Page 39 - FEB 2019 proof 1 - The Castle Pines Connection

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LAUREN WINSTON IS WARMING WINTER HEARTS
TALENTED TEENS
OF CASTLE PINES
By Julie Matuszewski; photos courtesy of Lauren Winston
Lauren Winston is not your ordinary teenager. She is kind, dedicated and personable with a passion to help those in need of a little lift. Lauren has been a part of National Charity League since she was in 7th grade. She has volunteered at a number of sites including Food Bank
of the Rockies, Ronald McDonald House, Joshua Station, Meals on Wheels, and Children’s Hospital.
Lauren is local resident of the Castle Pines community and is currently a senior at Regis Jesuit High School where she is actively involved with the Service Projects program. This program provides students the opportunity to spend two weeks away from school providing service at numerous sites. Lauren chose Eastridge Elementary school where 80% of its students are on free or reduced lunch programs. Instantly Lauren felt connected with the kids and her desire to help grew even stronger.
After two weeks working closely with the kids, what she noticed most was that many kids
did not have winter coats. Most of the students came to school in just a long sleeve shirt. The impact that Eastridge Elementary made on Lauren ran deep and she was driven to give back
to these kids. After a day of home winter cleaning, she reached the idea to start a coat drive campaign within the Castle Pines community and approval was granted to extend the campaign beginning this February at Regis Jesuit High School. With the help of her fellow Service Learning colleagues she is hoping to raise 50 coats. Currently in Castle Pines she has raised 15 coats by advertising on Nextdoor.
Lauren stated “this initiative has really impacted me because it’s made me feel like I can do more to help. It’s also made me think about what I can do in the future. My experiences with Eastridge Elementary School have also inspired me to go into a eld where I can work with kids. I de nitely see myself involved in future initiatives to help those in need. I’m hoping to continue helping out at Eastridge and my stretch goal is to hopefully raise the funding going towards low-income schools.” Lauren continues to volunteer today and will be completing her Senior Service Project at Children’s Hospital.
If you would like to help Lauren warm the kids of Eastridge Elementary please email wintercoatdrive2019@gmail.com for more information on donating.
Lauren Winston enjoyed her time with the students at Eastridge Elementary.
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DO YOU KNOW
A TALENTED TEEN?
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editor@castlepinesconnection.com
Did You Know?
The Connection website has a Marketplace Directory where all businesses who have advertised with us are listed.
This is a great place to check for businesses that are local and reputable. Businesses can be searched by name, type of business or key words.